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Manchester United's unbeaten start to the Premier League season came to an end at the hands of Swansea City, as they lost 2-1 in a pulsating encounter. The win however, kept Swansea's unbeaten record intact as they now move into the top 4 of the Premier League.
Juan Mata opened the scoring for United early in the second half but the Swans hit back soon through Andre Ayew and then got the winner from Bafetembi Gomis as some inspired, fast, one-touch attacking play got the Frenchman through and he made no mistake finishing past Romero.
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Having started the season without having conceded a goal and not lost in the first three matches, the Red Devils set out to right their recent record against their Welsh hosts as the Garry Monk led side had done the double over United last season, winning both fixtures by an identical scoreline of 2-1.
The away team were coming on the back of a great 4-0 win over Club Brugge in the Champions League qualifier and will take on Liverpool in their first match after the international break. Swansea, on the other hand will be greatly encouraged by their start, and will look to their next fixtures with enthusiasm.
The match started with Manchester United looking to dominate possession and go forward with purpose as they started Ander Herrera instead of Adnan Januzaj, who was out injured. The home team however, were buoyant and though were controlled by the United defense in the early parts of the match, came into their own soon, and started passing the ball with pace and precision.
Juan Mata put his shot just wide under pressure after good build-up play. Although Wayne Rooney had a couple of good chances to open the scoring, he was hesitant to finish with his left foot on both occasions, as he saw one opportunity go away thanks to Ashley Williams’ coming back and putting the ball away as the striker tried to cut in on his right to try and finish. The second chance saw his attempted chip end tamely in the ends of goalkeeper Fabianski.
A well-worked setpiece saw Shelvey find Gomis in the box with a fast, zipped through ball, and Sigurdsson took it in his stride but his shot went just wide. Then Romero's misplaced clearance saw Shelvey attempt a shot on goal, but that was saved by the goalkeeper. Gomis then turned Daley Blind in the box, and got a great shot away but it hit the outside of the post and went out.
The second half saw United come out with the intention to score and did so in the 49th minute as Luke Shaw's delivery came through avoiding everyone in the box to Mata, who made no mistake with the finish. That goal however, served to ignite the Swansea outfit, as a misplaced pass from Rooney saw the home team counter. A lovely cross from Sigurdsson on the right saw a great header from Andre Ayew that gave Romero no chance.
Immediately after that goal, with the away team on the back foot, a swift passing move instigated by Jonjo Shelvey saw the ball come out to Ayew on the right, whose beautiful outside of the foot pass found Gomis, whose instinctive finish left Romero picking the ball out of his net for a second time. Though both goals were great moves, they could have been avoided as errors from Rooney and Romero, whose positoning was faulty led to their team conceding those goals.
Following the goals, United struggled to fashion any major chances and the one golden opportunity that fell to them was wasted by Wayne Rooney, who again failed to finish with his left foot, and allowed a recovering Williams to avert the danger.
Garry Monk continues his mastery over Louis van Gaal with his third successive 2-1 win over his Dutch counterpart, and will be happy to see his side maintain their unbeaten start to the season. Van Gaal however, will want to rectify things going into the international break, and considering the difficulty they faced in breaking down Swansea, the Red Devils could be active in the last 2 days of the transfer window.
